As I Was Dying
by reynasmustache
Summary: Leo was cornered. He was going to die; it was inevitable. His last thoughts were of Nico di Angelo. But little did he know, the Ghost King can alter the course of life.
1. Chapter 1

Leo couldn't move. He knew the monster wouldn't stop moving if he did, but he had no weapon, no escape. He was backed into a corner with deep cuts all over. He would bleed out or be eaten alive. Leo couldn't decide which was the better option. He gulped. He wouldn't die a hero if he didn't go down fighting, and he couldn't fight if his limbs wouldn't move. Oh, his brain was shrieking at him, _"Go! Pull out a weapon from that handy magical tool belt of yours, you bloody brilliant boy!" _His body simply wouldn't listen. As he had thought, the monster kept closing in. Leo shut his eyes. He could see his obituary now: _Leo Valdez died a coward, after staring at the monster_-He cracked an eye open.-_two feet away. He wasn't welcoming death nor was he fighting it-_ Wait. Two feet? His eyes snapped open. _Yeah, two feet._ He made an involuntary noise in his throat. _Goodbye, life. Tell Nico I love him-Wait, what? _He'd barely finished his thought before the monster, looming over him, made a swipe at his head. Suddenly Leo wasn't there.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico turned. He'd heard whimpering from the other side of the cave. His eyes widened. Leo was backed into a wall by a monster. _He's so handsome. I wish…_ Nico caught himself and jolted back into reality.

"Leo!"

Leo locked eyes with him. Suddenly the monster was at his throat. Nico swore, already running toward him, sword out of its sheath. As he was running, he was praying to every Greek and Roman god there was that this boy would live. He loved Leo, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo awoke in someone's arms. He kept his eyes closed, slowly, _drowsily _figuring out his situation. He wasn't just being hugged; he was being carried. _In someone's arms. _He opened one eye, looking at his…rescuer? He'd last been standing under a monster's foaming mouth. _Okay, let's not dwell on that._ It was Nico di Angelo. _Oh my freaking gods._ The guy he loved had saved him…like a knight on a white horse. Which meant he was the princess. _Oh. Well, if my knight is Nico di Angelo, I can wear a pink dress for all I care._ _His beauty will make up for it._

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." A voice interrupted his thoughts. A deep, amused voice.

"Shut up," Leo muttered. He couldn't be mad at Nico.

"What, you're not grateful I saved you?" Nico asked, mock-offended. Leo laughed.

"I'm thankful, okay, but why are you carrying me while running through the woods?" Nico gave him a look. A _what-do-you-think _look.

"First, we have stopped. Second, I kind of only angered the monster when I stabbed it. Except I sorta…missed." For once, the Ghost King sounded sheepish.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico didn't mention that he was so mad he couldn't see straight. He thought that would raise too many questions he didn't want to answer. He realized he was still carrying Leo, and set him down against a tree.

"Okay, well, I think I can shadow-travel us somewhere. We probably can't make it to Camp Half-Blood. I can't bring us through the borders, only to the boundary hill. I'll be too exhausted to make it up the hill, and you're not really in a state to carry me up to my cabin," Nico told Leo. Leo frowned.

"Where can we go? What do we do?" Leo sounded scared.

Nico sighed. "I don't know, Leo." _I just want to keep you safe._


	5. Chapter 5

Leo was scared. He felt like a little eight-year-old again, setting fire to his mom. He didn't mean to destroy the safe. He pulled Nico down next to him from where he'd been standing. Nico stumbled, not expecting it, but sat down next to Leo.

"I'm sorry," Leo said, looking down. "I-You can leave me here. I'll die alone. You won't be responsible."

"Leo!" His surprised tone made Leo look up. "I couldn't leave you. Also, I'm pretty sure that would make me responsible."

Leo realized something. "Hey, that's the second time you called me Leo."

Nico smiled slightly. "To be fair, I don't really talk to you that much."

"I like your smile," Leo blurted. He flinched, putting his hands in front of his face. "Please don't hurt me!"

To his surprise, Nico chuckled. Leo opened his fingers and peeked at the son of Hades. Nico was still looking at him. _He's not mad, he's…laughing?_ Nico tried suppressing a smile; needless to say, he failed. Leo grinned and poked him.

"I made you laugh."

Nico rolled his eyes. "That you did," he allowed.

"There's hope for you yet," Leo grinned. _Someday, I'll win you over._


	6. Chapter 6

Nico wanted to smile again. What was wrong with him? _Leo…_ He couldn't help the little bursts of happiness that crossed his face whenever he thought of the boy. He rolled his eyes trying to keep the warmth away, the warmth that crept up on him, enveloping him, embracing him, like silent vines curling around him.

"We could go to Italy," he suggested. _No…Mouth, no more talking without my consent._

Leo cocked his head, confusion clouding his eyes. "Why Italy?"

One corner of Nico's mouth quirked up at his puzzled expression. He quickly pulled it back down.

"My family is from there," Nico informed Leo. He felt a hint of sadness, but nothing like the depression he used to fall into whenever he thought of Bianca.

"Oh." Leo seemed to know instinctively that this wasn't a subject he should delve into.

"Yeah. I want to look into some family stuff, so is it okay with you?"

Leo slowly nodded. "Spanish is pretty close to Italian, so I should be okay."

Nico stood up, pulling Leo with him. "Okay, man, have everything you need? The monster's not too far behind us."

Leo looked behind him nervously. "No, I'm good. We should get going."

Nico stepped closer to Leo. "Since it's your first time shadowtraveling and you're bright fire, we should be more connected."

Leo shrugged. "Okay." Nico didn't mention it, but he saw something light up in Leo's eyes. He stepped even closer and wrapped his arms around Leo, bracing the human flame against himself. He immediately felt warm and safe. He jolted himself back to reality.

"Ready?"

"As ever." Nico supposed Leo had heard from Percy what shadowtraveling felt like. He felt Leo curl into him more, preparing for the shadowspeed travel. Nico thought, _to Italy_, and they were off.

They hurtled through the darkness for mere seconds, shadows being able to throw them thousands of miles away in milliseconds. They stumbled into Venice. Nico recovered his balance easily, but had to lean against Leo in order to stand up.

"With great power, comes a great need to take a nap. Can we find somewhere to sleep?" Nico was so tired. He felt his eyes and his body drooping. His legs quickly gave out, and he was falling. A pair of arms caught him before he hit the ground, and then he was dreaming.


	7. Chapter 7

Leo looked at the son of Hades asleep in his arms. _Asleep in my…_ He grinned. The grin stretched around the universe and went on forever. The grin held one of the most basic and powerful emotions: love.

Leo started walking anywhere. He was mapping out and planning where they could go when he realized he had to get closer to the Death Prince. He couldn't stand this loving-from-afar thing anymore. At the very least, they would become friends. He _needed _it.

He realized something else. He was left in charge of a sleeping, defenseless, extremely powerful 14-year-old with a dad that could blast him to bits in a city he didn't know. _Well, this is sucktastic._ He sighed. _Am I gonna have to...yeah._

"Nico?" A groan.

"Nico, babe?" _Wait, what?_

A muttered, "I don't wanna get up," was all he got.

Leo knelt next to Nico. "Please? I don't know where we are."

Nico finally sat up, muttering in a semi-annoyed fashion. He looked around and blinked.

"We-We- Why are we in Venice? I thought we were in Rome."

"I don't know."

Nico gave him a look that said, _"Really?" _Leo sighed and set him on the ground, wrapping one of Nico's arms around himself.

"Hazel-she told me you grew up here. Maybe you did it subconsciously."

Nico nodded, seemingly mulling it over. "Well, I don't have the strength to shadowtravel us anywhere. We'll have to stay here for a while."

Leo hadn't thought of that and groaned at the thought of staying in this miserable rainy place.


End file.
